NZ parrot steals passport

The Briton was awaiting delivery of his passport in Milford Sound, in Fiordland National Park, when the bird struck. A bus driver was retrieving luggage from a storage locker when the kea snuck in and pinched a brightly-coloured courier bag. The driver was unable to stop the feathered highwayman, who immediately flew off into the surrounding trees.

The Scotsman, who did not want to be identified (and now, of course, cannot), said: “My passport is somewhere out there in Fiordland. The kea’s probably using it for fraudulent claims or something. I’ll never look at a kea in the same way.”

A second replacement passport could take up to six weeks to reach South Island, giving the kea ample opportunity to travel in the meantime.

Apologies to readers who have been searching for British passports, only to be rewarded with an image of our avian chum above. Happy trails!